Emancipate This!

Alyssa Gray-Tyghter :
0:00
If you knew how many times I recorded this one part, you would cry for me.

You're listening to Herstorically Speaking with Alyssa Gray-Tyghter,

a podcast about

whatever I want. I'm talking about the stories of our past and how they shape our present narratives. My stories, my way. It's herstory in the making. What's up peeps? This is Alyssa and welcome back to Herstorically Speaking. On today's episode, we're going to talk about the reality of Canadian history as we teach it now. And it's funny because I was going to talk about this last episode, and then you know, I was clearly feeling myself so then it turned into a half an hour of my life's journey.

So

now we really got to do Again, and truthfully, again, this isn't even where I had planned to be for this episode. But I feel like we just got to keep feeling it out and going with things that makes sense. So in talking about historically speaking, and kind of the need for this platform, it's really important to understand why this podcast exists, why the series is doing as well as it as it is and why, you know, this voice really needs to be heard. And the reality of our situation in terms of Canadian history, and the way we teach it, or Canadian experiences is that we prioritize American content, in our education system in our media. In a lot of the things that we consume, we consume a lot of American content. And I don't even think Americans realize how much of their content we consume. I don't think that's just a Canadian thing either, I think. And again, I don't live abroad. So I don't know. But I'm, I'm pretty sure. You know, in Europe, you guys could say the same in Australia. Again, I think in many Western countries, we really do prioritize American content. So it's important that there is a Canadian voice there is experiences in your curriculum that really showcase. And I don't want to say what it means to be Canadian, because even that's wordy. And we're gonna like when we get into more indigenous content, you will really see like, what is Canada, but I do want to highlight that for the purposes of this, what I refer to Canadians, I'm talking about people who currently occupy the stolen land that we're on. So all of the settlers that live here all The original inhabitants, fortunately, or unfortunately, we all kind of exist in this space together. So when I say Canadians, I'm referring to all of us who live here. So when we're looking at curriculum, I want you to think about how many of your resources, especially the ones that you purchase from Teachers Pay Teachers. And don't lie, like, we all do. We've said it before. But how many of them are from American teachers and, like, even contain American spellings of things, but you use them anyway? Because you're just like, yeah, like it's easier. A lot of them probably. And the thing that irks me the most about it is that in Canada, we teach both Canadian and American history like in high school, you can take American history as a course. But in the US, I feel like you guys have no idea what's happening up north like you maybe know We the North now, because we're the champs. That's right, Toronto Raptors shout out. But like, I'd be like, that's all you know about us. Or Drake, you know Drake to like, thanks Aubrey for putting us on the map like, like, other than that you think it's a permanent ice rink up here like, What? Where have you been? We actually have shows up here where they do things like talking to Americans. And, you know, our reporters will will go down south and be like, hey, and by down south, I mean like, to the US, when you guys say down south in America, you mean like your southern states. But in any case, they head to the US and they ask you guys questions about us. And literally you guys are like, I haven't the foggiest and not even in that nice of a way like

so. All of this

was kind of amplified. This past week when we had clown face, Draymond Green from The Golden State Warriors, saying in his interview with Masai Ujiri, that as a Canadian team Black Lives Matter doesn't directly impact our team because we're an entirely different country. So. So what? There are no black people in Canada? I am so confused. I don't think I belong here. Like, why? This is the kind of ignorance that just like, It baffles me, I don't even know what to say. And it really does. It shows you again that our lives and in Canada, like we're almost a blip on the radar or we're seen as some type of multicultural utopian society, where, yeah, we have people of different races and ethnicities and backgrounds and religions and so on, but somehow we all just get together. And sing Kumbaya and hold hands all the time. And that is not the case. And in that moment when Draymond Green and Masai Ujiri were having that conversation, the jury had had a moment there to correct Draymond Green and be like, no, that's actually not the case. There are black people in Canada. Police Brutality is a thing here as well. We are facing systemic racism in Canada. But instead he said that, you know, in a nutshell that our franchise, as the Toronto Raptors is just there to create awareness and further help the advocacy, which is true, but it doesn't help correct that uninformed opinion. And, again, Canadians you guys are fantastic sometimes because everyone lit up his Instagram profile. I went to go check one of his posts and he was cackling because everybody put clowns underneath And that is such a Toronto thing to do to call someone a clown because I constantly call people clowns when they're acting ridiculous. And so yeah, there were a bunch of like clown pictures on naked. I'm like, oh my peoples, but here are some straight backs where you dream on and anyone else who is like, Oh my god, Canada perfect. So stats, enslavement was practiced for 206 years here in Canada. And that is only the enslavement of black people in Canada. So that doesn't include the other atrocities which we are going to talk about. In other podcast episodes. The last black segregated school closed in Canada in 1983. Again, that doesn't even include the last residential school which closed in 1996. Like Where have you been? If you don't know this? The Stephen Lewis report on race relations was written in 1998 Do I say this so often that leg? I feel like everybody should know this because I just continue to repeat it. But if you read the Stephen Lewis report right now, it sounds like it was written yesterday, I kid you not. All of the information that is in that report are the same things that are still happening here in 2020. So we got a long way to go. And then Black Canadians account for 10% of inmates in federal prison yet are only 3% of the entire population. So like, help me Yeah, like, I I'm so frustrated, and I feel like this is gonna be one of those podcasts. Again, if you've listened to teachers like us, you hear me say things like, I'm over it or like, I'm

so mad or I'm so upset.

But like, Huh, you have to know and try like You got to look you, you actually have to actively search for this information and there in lies part of the problem. The problem is, is that the history we teach, or the experiences that we teach are American, or they're white, or they don't include marginalized identities. And so we can always plead ignorance like, Oh, I just didn't know. And that seems to be enough for everyone, but like, it's not in anymore. And if you want to know how that plays out in our school system, I'll show you like, I'll give you concrete examples of the way you know, prioritizing Americana. leaves us kind of clueless about things that are happening here or allows us to say, we're so much better than the US. So we know about the LA riots and rodney king in the US, but we don't know about the young street uprising and the murder of Michael Wade Lawson here in Toronto, so like, again, very similar events in terms of police brutality and uprisings that occurred. But I guarantee you so many people have not heard about those young Street, or that young street uprising. We can tell you all about Flint, Michigan, and the fact that they don't have clean water and I guarantee you, Canadians were sending money and protesting, which, again, I believe we should because we should be supporting our neighbors. It, you know, we're uplifting everybody. But the problem with that is, is that so many indigenous reserves still don't have access to clean water, and are under boil water advisories in 2020. Like that is a problem. And even like, it's a problem that you're unaware of that and that you are so outraged by the US and what the US West is doing to their people not realizing that so many atrocities are still happening here on our own soil and it's not even our soil. Oh, that's the worst. And then we celebrate Juneteenth which again, I believe we should celebrate Juneteenth, this is not me saying that we shouldn't. But you don't even know when our own emancipation day is. FYI, it's today. So happy emancipation day. Let's celebrate by getting the facts correct.

School's in session, August 1 is emancipation day here in Canada. There is actually a civic holiday, the first Monday in August, across Canada and in Toronto, specifically, it's called Simcoe day after John Graves Simcoe, who was the lieutenant governor in Upper Canada, which is what we now call Ontario. So, again, for any of you who have studied Canadian history, you know what Upper Canada is. But for those of you who haven't just know when I say Upper Canada, think of Ontario, a province. I'm sorry, some of you were like, I know that but you never know you really never know. Okay, so here is the Coles notes version of what happened leading up to emancipation day. The Crown, aka the British government, told white loyalists when they came here after the war, they could bring enslaved people with them. If you don't know who the loyalists were, they were the people who fought for the British during the American Revolution. So they sided with the British and then they were awarded land or Promised Land, and, you know, freedom in some cases for black loyalists to come and settle in Canada. In any case, white loyalists were told that they could bring enslaved people with them. Of course they did, because moving to Canada isn't enough to instill humanity. So they were like, yeah, we will. Let's bring her peeps. So they did. One of the enslaved people that they brought with them was a woman named Chloe Cooley. And when they brought people here, they thought that life would be the same as it was in the US, if not better, and by better, we mean better for white people. However, time started changing when they were here in Canada, and there were rumors going around that Canada was going to do something crazy

and give

humans their humanity back by abolishing enslavement. So, Adam, who was Chloe's enslaver started to sell off what he deemed his property. So all Adam and his friends were like, yep, these people got to go, we got to make some coins. And Chloe was like a No sir. I'm about to be free and you about to be poor? If so, because that wasn't the answer, obviously he wanted to hear he forced her onto a boat to sell her back to the US where enslavement was still alive and well. In that time or somewhere in that mix, john grapes Simcoe learned about Chloe's story and was like if this can happen to her then the future of all Africans in Canada is precarious. So he started to lobby the government for change. In July of 1793, the act against slavery was passed, aimed at ending the sale of slaves, by Canadians to Americans and guaranteeing freedom for the children of enslaved Africans born from then on. The Act also liberated slaves entering Upper Canada, so Ontario from the US, but a key thing to realize about this act is that it didn't free existence. Adult slaves already in residence. So people who had come to Canada and didn't want to sell their enslaved people and wanted to, you know, continue enslaving them could hold on to them. So it wasn't an act that completely abolished the act of slavery. It was a small piece that then led to, or we, we think led to the abolishment of enslavement. So if we put it all together and understand why this is a big deal, it's a domino effect, like one thing led to the other led to the other and helped the movement grow. So the act against slavery came 40 years before the slavery abolition act, and was the first law of its kind in the British Empire. The act against slavery led to the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade by 1807. In 1833, the slavery abolition act brought an end to chattel enslavement through the Empire coming into effect on drumroll please, that ended August 1 1834. In Britain, Canada, and several other colonies, my voices, my voice is running out. I've been doing this too long without water. But then the year after an 1838 it was a lot in the Caribbean. So just things to keep in mind. And all of that to say that the slavery abolition Act and the abolishment of slavery in Canada happened 31 years before Juneteenth in the US. So yes, we should absolutely celebrate Juneteenth because that's when our cousins in the south were free. And so that is a big deal. But it is also important to celebrate August 1, which is the day of emancipation for those who were in Canada at the time. I mean, haven't you ever wondered? Why caravan occurs when it occurs like this. This is caravan a time, my friends. And it is it's a celebration of our emancipation. So for all of you Americans always come up for caravana know what you're celebrating, but I digress back to the classroom. So, again, it's not that you can't have American knowledge in your classroom, but it really should be juxtaposed with Canadian content. Your students should understand the type of country they live in how it came to be, on whose backs this place was built. And as we go through even more stories of our past, you will see whose Labor has really gone into making this country what it is. And that's not necessarily to even say that, where it is now is where we should Be. And that's another thing that you really need to unpack with your students. When you start unpacking the atrocities of indigenous communities. You really do have to step back and say,

Is this the way we want to continue on? How do we make long lasting change? And that's really how you get your students to engage with the work and be those type of critical thinkers and those active participants in what you're doing. So share with your students talk to your students. Give your students all the information you were never given, and they will benefit from it. Even if you don't have the full story. something is better than nothing. Right? If you can give them a piece and then allow them to go forward with their own inquiry project, you'll be amazed at the type of information they'll uncover because they're Way more savvy than you give them credit for? And what about if you're not a teacher or a parent? It's your history. Learn it. And that's just what it is.

All right, School's out. Let's chat. I realized they wanted to have a segment of the podcast where we could just chat about whatever it is that is happening for the week, or things that I have on my mind stuff. I like stuff I don't like, but just a moment to kind of decompress after we talk about some heavy stuff because as we venture in further into the podcast, some of the stuff is gonna get really gritty. And I've always been taught that when we talk about heavy stuff that we want to bring people safely in and safely out. So this is your safely out. Coincidentally, it's also a teaching strategy. It's a twofer. So when we're having these big discussions, this is our safely out, it is a chance for you to take a breath before the podcast ends and just chat along with me. I think in the future, I'll also use it for maybe a question period. But right now I really do just have things that I want to talk about that I didn't get a chance to on the first podcast. And yeah, so let's do that. This week, I really wanted to chat a little bit about identity because I think it's really important when doing any kind of work to identify your positionality because it allows people to see the lens with which you approach your information. Because every piece of information that you receive from someone is biased in some way, shape or form because they carry with them a bunch of stuff in their invisible knapsack of experiences, truths and knowledge that they're just going to bring to any scenario. So I am going to identify myself in A couple of different ways. And by no means is this meant, like I do think you should identify, you know your positionality but that doesn't mean that you have to tell everyone everything about yourself. But for me, I think it's especially helpful in this work. So I am, I have labeled myself and I am throwing that out there I have labeled myself Afro Indigenous. My father is from Jamaica, like born in Jamaica and came here as it came to Canada as a very young child. My mother was born in Nova Scotia. My grandmother so my mom's mom was born in England, but has a father who was a soldier in the Canadian Army and took a war bride from England. So a lot of mixednesh mixedness there. I can't even speak anymore. My grandfather is was also born in Canada, his parents were born in Canada, and back and back and back and back back. So my background as it stands right now, and I say as it stands right now, because I am always digging, I am always finding new things about my history because just like our history is so hidden from us, it is hidden from many of the people who actually live it like Canadian history is difficult to sort through. So as it stands right now, the things I know about myself, again, my father is Jamaican, my mother is English.

Again, English, great grandmother, Mi'kmaq. So Indigenous, we also have Muskogee Creek ancestry. So I have papers from what's it called from reserve papers from relatives and Choctaw ancestry and also Black Loyalists ancestry on my mom's side. So Afro-Indigenous just seems kind of a cleaner way to say all of that, because I find it really difficult to be like, Well, I have this, this and this, but my background is Afro-Indigenous. And yes, I probably should include English in there somewhere. Afro In addition, if I don't know, um, but I do recognize that there is privilege in my background, right, my English background holds privilege of white privilege at that. And then I also hold multiple marginalized identities in the black loyalist in me in the Jamaican in me in the Indigenous in me, so, I did want to throw that out there and I don't want to mislead anybody about what my background is, but just understand that that is what it is. I am also cisgender and heterosexual so that plays a role in the way that I Approach information. And in some of the privilege that I hold and thus need to unpack, that's not to say that everyone needs to go around sharing their gender or their sexuality, because really, that is no one's business but your own. But I feel like because of the privilege that both of those identities hold for me, it's important for you to know that so when I am speaking, if I say something that isn't or that is harmful to another community, then somebody needs to be able to understand that, that that's a problem like you need to be able to call me out for that. And I am here to be accountable like I am not perfect, I really want to stress that I am learning and growing right alongside of you. So yes, I may know more about certain topics, but that doesn't mean I know everything about everything. I constantly make mistakes. If we are going to look into my most recent mistake, we can look right at the challenge accepted tag on Instagram. So this is something I also wanted to address because I'm still seeing a lot of people who haven't updated I guess their posts or figured out how to be a better ally. So with the challenge accepted post, people were going around obviously, well, mostly women, or femmes I should say, see, again, this is my cisgender heterosexual lens is that I said women when really I meant femme, so people who identify as female and don't experience the privilege of masculinity. So in any case, or we were out there posting black and white selfies, thinking we were super cute, and many of us did not realize how it started and it started to acknowledge Turkish femicide and the fact that their sisters, their cousins, were were dying, or were being murdered in Turkey. So gender based violence in Turkey is real. And it's a problem. So I think it's important to backtrack when you make a mistake, so I posted it because I didn't know what it was. But I was like Challenge accepted. I'm like, Asher, I never really participate in things. Let's do it. And I didn't say anything more into the post. It really originally just said Challenge accepted. However, as soon as I learned what the real cause was, I had to stop. I revisited my caption and updated it so that it had information pertaining to what the actual cause was, so I could spread awareness, and then I repost it to my stories, acknowledging that I had made a mistake, and that is the biggest part of doing the work and learning. It's understanding that you We're constantly going to make mistakes, because it's just the nature of learning.

But it's how you rebound? Are you going to continue to push forward and dig into the uncomfortable work and still stick around when somebody calls you out? Or you don't do something perfect or the right way? Are you going to stick around? Are you going to be like, forget it, then like, if they can't accept me for my mistakes, then they don't deserve me at all? Um, no, you have to really take stock of why you are doing this work and what it means to you. It's very different when you approach things without or with privilege. Rather,

when you approach something

with privilege, you have the option of opting in and opting out. When you approach something from the marginalized community community, especially the one that is under attack at any given moment. You don't have the option of opting out. You are In, like it or not, when you were in the streets you are in it when you speak, you are in it when you post on Instagram, you weren't in it. So I need more of our allies to take that active stance in knowing that when you're in it, you're in it. So continue to do the work, even though it's uncomfortable. Understand your privilege, check your privilege every day. Do it often, because you're going to find yourself in positions where you're not recognizing the fact that it's your privilege speaking, and not your empathy. So we really need to work on moving forward in that way.

And with that, my mouth is hella dry. I need to get

off of this mic and call it a night or call it a day. I don't even know I think it's past midnight at this point. I'm tired. Okay. Thanks for listening. I will catch you next week. Peace out.

I recorded two podcasts in one night so I'm basically a superhero.